MEET OUR ILSI SEA REGION PROGRAM MANAGERS
From left to right: Jocelyn loves spending time and having fun with her energetic boys, while Janice enjoys elegant acrobatics with aerial silks. Hui Key seeks out the latest nooks to savour a delicious meal, and Ellaine finds time to relax amid the city buzz
ILSI SEA Region’s regional scientific programs are led by the Director of Scientific Programs, Pauline Chan. She is supported by Jocelyn Wong (Senior Manager, Scientific Programs), Janice Lee (Assistant Manager, Scientific Programs), and Hui Key Lee (Executive, Scientific Programs). Assisting with the ILSI SEA Region Philippine Country Committee is Ellaine Javier (Coordinator Assistant).
Jocelyn started working with ILSI SEA Region in 2014, Ellaine in 2017, while both Hui Key and Janice joined in 2018. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, much of their work involved developing, coordinating and facilitating the Entity’s regional scientific activities, as well as communications with key stakeholders such as members, directors and scientific advisors. Ellaine provided support for event management and administrative coordination of the Philippine Country Committee.
Q: How has your work changed since the global pandemic has affected much of the world?
Jocelyn: As the pandemic situation eased in certain countries, we explored the option of organizing hybrid meetings with local participants attending physically while overseas participants joined virtually. This was a first for us, and we were able to facilitate the hybrid meeting successfully. This experience has taught us to be flexible and resourceful, adapting ourselves to dynamic environments.
Janice: Since the global pandemic began, we have been working remotely from home and it has been almost a year since we have seen each other physically. Despite this, we communicate regularly within our team, to ensure we continue to deliver our programs, albeit through virtual and digital platforms.
Hui Key: While we are not able to hold physical events for the time being, virtual meeting and webinar platforms have been great tools in allowing us to continue with our planned activities. We have also gained positive outcomes, such as the ability to reach a much wider audience through virtual meetings, and greater opportunities to connect with experts from other parts of the world.
Ellaine: Due to the pandemic, social gatherings are not encouraged, hence, we had to shift everything – from work meetings to administrative functions and scientific seminars – online.
Q: What was the hardest, and the best thing that came out of all these changes?
Jocelyn: I gave birth to my second baby in March 2020, just when Singapore entered its “lock down” period. Schools were closed, and non-essential workers had to work from home. I found myself stuck at home with an active toddler and a new-born, without any help from my extended family as even family members were not allowed to visit during this time. But, as they say, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going” – overcoming this difficult situation gave me strength as a new mother of two, and I learnt how to cope (and survive!) with young kids 24/7.
I am also grateful and thankful for my colleagues at ILSI SEA Region, who supported me with their help and patience after I returned to work from maternity leave. While we were not able to meet each other physically, we communicated even more frequently than we previously did, and I am proud that our webinars and activities were able to proceed smoothly with minimal hiccups. We also had a lot of assistance from ILSI Global when we first started to use the webinar platforms.
Janice: Adjusting and adapting to working from home was difficult at the start! I missed the in-person conversations with my colleagues and friends during Singapore’s “lock down” period. However, this experience has taught me to be more disciplined, and I learnt to better manage my work and personal time.
Hui Key: I am based in Malaysia, and I live and work in the city away from my family and friends back in my hometown. During Malaysia’s lockdown period, I faced the challenge of keeping myself connected with my family and friends, and keeping active while staying alone at home. Shifting physical seminars and conferences to online webinars was quite a difficult task at the beginning because our team lacked experience in managing webinar platforms. But I am indeed very thankful to my colleagues for it was really rewarding to work hard and learn together as a team.
Ellaine: Probably, the hardest part for me was the lack of social interaction, be it personal or work-related. Before the pandemic, it was enjoyable and enriching to meet many of the speakers and participants at our scientific events. Restrictions arising from the pandemic also meant that I was not able to socialise with friends after work to de-stress from daily pressures. However, I must admit that shifting our seminars online has made many arrangements so much more efficient and convenient - things are easily done now with just a few clicks in the comfort of my home!
Q: What was the one new thing that you learnt throughout this period?
Jocelyn: Managing my time well when working from home.
Janice: Learning how to use webinar platforms.
Hui Key: Learning how to spend time alone.
Ellaine: Video editing skills. I guess this pandemic has brought out the creative side of me.
Q: What do you most wish to see/happen in the next 12 months?
Jocelyn: It may take some time for the pandemic to subside but I do hope that traveling will resume with safety precautions in place.
Janice: I wish that there will be no resurgence of COVID-19 infections in the next 12 months, and all of us can gradually return to some semblance of normalcy.
Hui Key: I hope that the situation in Malaysia will improve with vaccinations rolling out smoothly so that we can travel and visit our family within the country.
Ellaine: While the situation has improved in numerous countries, unfortunately cases in the Philippines are still increasing and vaccines are limited. Hopefully, in the next 12 months, the COVID situation here improves so that things can go back to the way it used to be.
Q: Is there anything that you would like to say to our readers?
Jocelyn: I hope that we will be able to return to the office, see our colleagues, and meet our members, directors and science advisors again in the coming months!
Janice: We hope that our readers will enjoy this new online format of the ILSI SEA Region newsletter! We always welcome fresh, new ideas so please drop us an email if you have any suggestions on how we could improve, or what you would like to see in our upcoming issues.
Hui Key: I hope you enjoy reading all our communications and wish to see you soon in physical meetings.
Ellaine: Working with ILSI SEA Region, I discovered that I can be more creative and flexible. I also hope that our scientific work continues to flourish here in the Philippines, because ILSI offers an important and unique platform to our tripartite stakeholders - the industry, academia, and government.